Spotter Staffing’s mission is to connect bright and passionate school therapists, social workers and special education teachers with in-school career opportunities that take them where they want to go. We love to help our community of caring and talented professionals take the next step on their path towards a brighter future, by finding them a better job.

Meet Liliana!

Liliana is an amazing Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist who works through Spotter Staffing. We wanted to let her give her perspective on what it’s like to work through an agency, what her time with Spotter has been like, and who she is (in multiple languages). Watch the short video below to learn more about Liliana.

Transcription:

Mackenzie: Welcome to another edition of Learn from a Llama. This week we have Liliana with us. Liliana, thanks for joining.

Liliana: Of course, thanks for inviting me.

Mackenzie: Of course, we’d love to show you off and brag about you a little bit here. So can you start by telling us a little bit about what your current role is?

Liliana: Yeah, so currently I’m working in an elementary school. I specifically work with kindergartners, first graders, and second graders.

Mackenzie: Awesome. And what’s your discipline? Are you speech? Are you special education?

Liliana: Yes, I’m a bilingual speech-language pathologist.

Mackenzie: Awesome. I know that, but I just want the people to know that. So as a bilingual SLP, what’s your favorite part about your job right now?

Liliana: I’d say overall I have a strong passion for bilingualism and language development. And something I really like about my current role is that I work with a lot of students who are second-language learners. And evaluating them and providing services for multilingual speakers, especially in Spanish, has been one of my favorite things about the role I’m in right now.

Mackenzie: That’s awesome. I can’t imagine how difficult it is or challenging or wonderful it is to learn as much as everybody else and then be able to translate it into multiple languages. So that’s awesome.

Liliana: Yes, it’s all of the above, I’d say. I’d like to think of it as like a really big puzzle. And I’m trying to fit all of the puzzle pieces together. To kind of, you know, figure out the best practice for each case that I have.

Mackenzie: Yeah, that’s awesome. Well, we’re glad to hear that. So my question is kind of the next one’s a little bit about Spotter. But has Spotter been helpful to you in your career? Has there been a benefit, do you think, to working with Spotter to find your position?

Liliana: I’d say overall, yes. Something I really enjoy about Spotter is the opportunity to have exposure to different schools and different roles. And I think that’s a really good thing. I think it’s something new. Recently was the access to LessonPix, which was super exciting for me, because I use that every single day. And the last thing I’d say is probably giving me the opportunity to connect with new individuals at work who now have transitioned to becoming friends of mine.

Mackenzie: Oh, good. I’m so glad to hear that. We always love having more people in the herd and more people getting to know you and work with you and see all the work that you do in the schools because you do an amazing job. And I think that’s a really good thing. I guess my last question is sort of a little bit muddled, but do you have any fun memories from Spotter events that you’ve been to or anything you’re excited for coming up?

Liliana: I remember doing a back-to-school event. I think it was in West Loop, where we had to do like a scavenger hunt and find all of the llamas. Yeah, is that right? That was like two years ago or something. Yeah, and it was so fun competing with everyone. And the prize was a really good one.

Mackenzie: Good. Yeah, we’ll have to do more of those. I know our next event is at the Botanic Gardens. So it’s a little bit too spread out to have a scavenger hunt there, but maybe our next one we can do. Well, thank you so much. I appreciate hearing all about that. The next couple of questions I have for you are a little bit more fun, just a little bit, just something people can hear about me and who I am. But the first one I wanted to ask is what’s the best concert that you’ve ever been to?

Liliana: So I think the best concert I’ve been to was in New York. I went to go see Benito or Bad Bunny, as people know him. And I saw his concert, Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana. It was the first time I’d been to New York. So that was super exciting. And then on top of seeing Bad Bunny, it was memorable.

Mackenzie: Yeah, that sounds awesome. Were any of the Jenners or the Kardashians there when you saw him?

Liliana: No, I was trying to, you know, see if I could spot any celebrities. But unfortunately, the only celebrity was Bad Bunny. That’s okay. Still a fun concert.

Mackenzie: All right. I got one last question. And then I’ll let you get back to your busy day because I know you have a thousand things going on in multiple languages at once. But my last question for you is, what’s one thing that you can’t go a day without?

Liliana: Coffee. So actually, during COVID, I was trying to figure out, you know, what to do with some extra time that I had when everything was shut down. And I got really into coffee and the different kinds of beans that people use to roast the coffee. And I even, you know, started going around Chicago to visiting local coffee shops once they started opening up. And kind of my passion for coffee stemmed from there.

Mackenzie: Oh, that’s awesome. I’m new to coffee as well. It’s only been the last couple years. But I would agree that I cannot start my day, I can’t finish my day until I’ve had a cup of coffee.

Liliana: If you need any recs, let me know.

Mackenzie: I will. I’ll definitely let you know the next time I’m in town. You can give me some ideas.

Liliana: Yes, of course.

Mackenzie: Thank you so much for telling us a little bit about what you do and who you are. And thanks for letting us show you off. We really appreciate it. And I’ll see you next time.I really appreciate the impact that you have on your school and for all your students. So, thanks so much. And thanks for everybody tuning in to watch at home. We’ll see you next time.

Are You Looking for a New Career Opportunity?

Spotter Staffing is currently hiring for Speech-Language Pathologists, Social Workers, Special Education Teachers, Occupational Therapists and Physical Therapists! If you want to view our current open positions, click here, or contact a member of our recruiting team to learn more today. We’re happy to help you through every step of the job search process so you don’t just find a better job, but a brighter future!